Blank also
toured Palermo’s Pizza with Mayor Barrett and met with local business leaders
as part of White House Business Council outreach effort

Acting
U.S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank traveled to Milwaukee today to deliver
the keynote address at the 113th League of Wisconsin Municipalities
Annual Conference to discuss the American Jobs Act–how it will spur economic
growth, accelerate job creation and benefit Wisconsin. The League is a nonprofit and nonpartisan association of cities and
villages that serves as an information clearinghouse, advocacy organization and
legal resource for Wisconsin municipalities; it is comprised of 190 cities
and 392 villages.

At the Conference, Blank discussed details of
President Obama’s American Jobs Act. Blank highlighted the different ways
the plan would make an immediate impact on job creation: cutting taxes for
small businesses, putting more money in the pockets of consumers through an
expanded payroll tax cut, and preventing the layoffs of teachers, firefighters
and policemen, while putting construction workers to work through much-needed
renovations to school, roads, rail and airports renovations. Blank
underlined the need for Congress to act quickly on the bipartisan measures in
the Jobs Act.

“Outside
experts say the American Jobs Act would put nearly two million people to work,
while putting more money in the pockets of workers and repairing infrastructure
vital to enhancing America’s competitiveness,” Blank said. “It’s time for
Democrats and Republicans in Congress to come together and swiftly pass the
measures in the Jobs Act, which will put people back to work right away and put
more money in the pockets of American families.”

Earlier
in the day, Blank joined Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett on a tour at Palermo’s
Pizza, a rapidly growing regional company that added almost 100 jobs last year
and is leading the “Earn to Learn” program with the Mayor’s Office, which gives
high school-aged youth a chance to develop marketable skills through direct
work experience and training seminars. Blank
also hosted a White House Business Council roundtable discussion with local
business leaders to discuss the jobs plan in further detail, challenges facing
America’s business community, ways to improve U.S. economic competitiveness and
the help that is available to businesses from agencies across the federal
government.